sebum
noun/ˈsiːbəm/ · /ˈsiːbm̩/
Etymology Learned borrowing from Latin sēbum (“tallow, grease; suet”).
1
Medicine, Physiology, Sciences A thick oily substance, secreted by the sebaceous glands of the skin, that consists of fat, keratin and cellular debris.
- ‘I mean, it is not simply adolescent acne caused by the over-excretion of sebum.’2000, Zadie Smith, White Teeth, London: Hamish Hamilton, →ISBN, page 387:
- Derived terms
- sebaceous, sebific, seborrhagia, seborrhea